Food to avoid for pre-diabetic people

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyline I'm pre-diabetic and had looked into this quite a bit a few years ago. After making some adjustments (some hard, some easy, but most surprisingly easy to get used to), I was able to get my fasting blood sugar down into the 80's. .

Wow, bringing your FBS down to the 80's from being pre-diabetic is quite impressive! What is the biggest thing you have done that made the huge impact (beside combining carbs with meat, etc)? I am all ears.

[photoguy]

Thanks for posting the link.

Some surprises for me in that list. For example, it shows white bread the same as whole wheat. Similarly brown/white rice are basically the same but Uncle Ben's is way lower (~70 for white/brown but only 38 for Uncle Ben's). I thought Uncle Ben's was just cooked white rice that's dried again. Chickpeas are at 10, but canned in brine are at 38.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Note that glycemic index is usually measured with the test subjects eating just one food item at a time. The above chart does not show the effect of eating a combination of items.

My brother-in-law is a type I diabetic and when he was recovering from a heart attack, he was put on a diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. ALthough 2 of 3 components are pretty bad, as a whole it kept his blood sugar levels very constant (he has a continuous monitor).

Quote:

Apparently, the oil in fried rice reduces its glycemic index. So, eating carb along with fat is good for you.

So I guess the next time I have a baked potato I should slather it in butter and sour cream. And I can go back to eating my homemade white bread as long as I put enough butter on it

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Anybody ever tried mung bean noodles? (Make sure it has no yams or tapioca in them; just mung beans) About zero effect on my BS (but it's very high in carbs so it's not a diet food.)

Not noodles but I used to live on mung bean pancakes: Mung Bean Pancakes (Bindaetteok) recipe - Maangchi.com . I have no idea what it does for my blood sugar and unfortunately I've never seen it in a restaurant so I can only get it from home cooks. They do use white rice in the recipe though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan Do any of these dudes from Harvard go out into the real world...who ever ate 1.76 oz of ice cream and then stopped.

A serving is 1/2 tub for me. Usually I eat it until I start getting too cold. And I like the cheaper non-premium brands as it's easier to scoop out.

[ivinsfan]

The comments here remind me again that the majority of people posting here are outside the norm of our society.

I know many people
with blood sugar problems. Yet the comments I hear at large, are my Doc said I might be pre-diabetic, me "What is your fasting blood sugar?". Oh I don't remember, it was kinda high.He said I should try to cut back on sugar and if it's still high in 6 months, I can go on pills.

Someone in their 40's already on the oral pills," My doc said I could lose some weight and focus on what I am eating and that could work for me. I told him just put me on the shots, I don't want to worry about everything I eat."

A Type 2, been on shots for a least 5 years and having terrible sugar spikes and control problems, "I looked on line and found out I could eat cheese because it doesn't bother your sugars number much" This person is single and eats fast food probably twice a day.

Interacting with all you sane people on-line is making me less tolerant of the knobs. It's getting harder and harder to just listen and say Good Luck. What I really want to say is "get a clue why don't you?

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow What worked for me to get it back to the normal range was to get a meter and test my blood sugar after eating various foods. And, it had a lot to do with portion size as well. I basically found the foods that tended to raise my blood glucose higher than I wanted it to be then I avoided those foods. In some instances, I found that I could eat them in small quantities.

+1 while GI/GL are good guidelines, individuals may find some foods affect them more than others, despite where they fall on the Indexes. If you have the patience to test, this is probably the best way to go.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoguy Thanks for posting the link. Some surprises for me in that list. For example, it shows white bread the same as whole wheat. Similarly brown/white rice are basically the same but Uncle Ben's is way lower (~70 for white/brown but only 38 for Uncle Ben's). I thought Uncle Ben's was just cooked white rice that's dried again. Chickpeas are at 10, but canned in brine are at 38.

The steam processing on Uncle Ben's rice creates a hard outer coating on each rice grain that slows their digestion, hence much lower GI than regular rice.

That steaming process also forces many of the the vitamins from the bran into the starch, so it's nutritionally superior to white rice.

[skyline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Wow, bringing your FBS down to the 80's from being pre-diabetic is quite impressive! What is the biggest thing you have done that made the huge impact (beside combining carbs with meat, etc)? I am all ears.

In general, I've reduced my carb intake across the board. Three easy changes that I think really made a difference for me:

1 - I used to eat a lot of rice, and I substitute it now with boiled barley. At first it was difficult, as barley has a very distinct flavor, but over time I grew to really like it, and now is almost a painless diet and nutrition improvement. For certain dishes, I miss white rice, but overall, I actually prefer the barley. Barley can take a while to prepare, so I make a big batch and freeze in individual portions. A couple minutes in the microwave and it's ready to go.

2 - I also used to eat lots of potatoes, and I substitute that with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not as GL friendly as barley is, but it is very GI friendly and much more nutritious. The only problem with sweet potatoes is that most people cook it way too long, basically converting the sweet potato into a candy bar (from a blood sugar perspective). I bake them no more than 35mins in the oven, and eat in place of regular potatoes. The more raw you can handle it, the better.

3 - The last major carb change was breakfast, which used to be almost always cereal (talk about a carb bomb). Now I have oatmeal most mornings - unsweetened, almost always with a piece of bacon or sausage. Don't go with the usual instant oatmeal (which has all kinds of added sugar and is too processed to have a good GI effect), go with steel cut or Coaches Oats which is similar but much easier to prepare. Alternatively, I sometimes have low-carb yogurt with a piece of fruit. Most yogurts are actually very high carb, but if you look around, you can find some very low carb (almost always NOT low fat) yogurts.

Other than that, it's the usual stuff, less dessert, less bread, less pasta, more fruits/veg, eating more frequently, etc. Most of this has been more difficult than the barley/sweet potato/breakfast changes (esp. the less dessert part), but I've gotten into a routine that, at least for the time being, seems to be working without too much effort...

[skyline]

Oh, one other change, I now drink wine much more than beer. That was an easy change, and I still love me a nice IPA or DIPA now and then, but my go to drink with dinner is a glass of red wine.

[Corporateburnout]

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 3 years ago with no family history of diabetes. My fasting glucose at diagnoses in October 2013 was 194 and my A1C was 7.4. I was borderline for a few years before but never over 6.0 A1C but I ignored it and did nothing about it. I was overweight and stressed . My doctor put me on the oral medication metformin and suggested to see a nutritionist but I elected to try to reduce my weight on my own through diet and exercise.

I went on a low carb diet by reducing my consumption of bread, pasta, rice and potatoes while increasing my daily allowance of fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken and steak. Completely eliminated fried food and replaced it with baked or grilled. I increased my level of exercise by walking 3 miles a day and playing tennis 3 times a week. I also eliminated stress from my life by retiring and getting away from the job and the commute associated with it.

I stopped taking metformin 6 months later after losing 25 lb. My A1C has not gone over 5.5 since with a low of 5.3. My diet is not as strict as it was and I don't avoid carbs as much as I used to but I'm still diabetes free.

My doctor believes that obesity and stress were the main cause of the spike in my blood glucose level especially with no family history of the disease and that I should be free of diabetes as long as I continue to exercise and keep the weight under control.

[NW-Bound]

Wow, that's a good story.

As mentioned ealier, my fasting blood glucose went up to 102, and while it was not really that high I took some precautionary measures. My parents had a history of diabetes, though not to the point of taking insulin. My sister is now monitoring her blood glucose daily, though I do not know her number.

After a few months of paying attention to the carbs that I eat, and switching from white rice to Uncle Ben converted rice, the recent blood test shows my A1C at 5%. I have always eaten a lot of veggie, but now try to get more calories from fat and protein rather than carb. I am a meat eater, and can never be vegetarian anyway.

Yep, I would rather take precautionary measures, and not risk letting the problem get to the point that I have to measure and weight everything I eat. That's no fun.

[Amethyst]

Wouldn't this be considered a cure? I am serious. You cannot still be considered pre-diabetic if your sugar levels are normal, can you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyline I'm pre-diabetic and had looked into this quite a bit a few years ago. After making some adjustments (some hard, some easy, but most surprisingly easy to get used to), I was able to get my fasting blood sugar down into the 80's.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Wouldn't this be considered a cure? I am serious. You cannot still be considered pre-diabetic if your sugar levels are normal, can you?

Once your fasting glucose goes above 126, you are considered diabetic. After that you can only control it, but won't be cured. If you go back to bad habits, the diabetes will return.

[Amethyst]

It sounds, from what you're saying, that even though the person is still called a diabetic, the diabetic deterioration might be kept at bay without medication. That is pretty fantastic. It also explains why people are so serious about the GI numbers of food.

Both my older siblings are T2 diabetics, who have predicted that I'll get it too. Last year my fasting blood sugar was 88, so who knows. If I do get it, I want to know that I can control it without medication [although the news about metformin's starting to sound very interesting]

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Originally Posted by DFW_M5 Once your fasting glucose goes above 126, you are considered diabetic. After that you can only control it, but won't be cured. If you go back to bad habits, the diabetes will return.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst If I do get it, I want to know that I can control it without medication [although the news about metformin's starting to sound very interesting]

You are better to control it with diet and exercise than taking metformin. Most drugs have side effects but in rare cases metformin can negatively effect kidney functions. I was only on it for 6 months but a urine test showed a small amount of protein which indicates a kidney filtration problem but once I was off the drug the amount of protein went down to healthy levels.

[braumeister]

Yes, but another possible side effect of metformin is causing you to outlive your savings.

Diabetic drug 'slows aging process and increases lifespan,' study suggests - Medical News Today

[ivinsfan]

Metformin can cause horrid digestive issues as well.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Yes, but another possible side effect of metformin is causing you to outlive your savings. Diabetic drug 'slows aging process and increases lifespan,' study suggests - Medical News Today

Quote:

To reach their findings, the team conducted a series of experiments in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans - a model they say is ideal for studying the aging process as it only has a 3-week lifespan. The team found that metformin increased the number of toxic molecules released in the worms' cells, which they were surprised to find boosted their long-term strength and longevity.

Works good in round worms so no doubt it can be good for humans!

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Yes, but another possible side effect of metformin is causing you to outlive your savings. Diabetic drug 'slows aging process and increases lifespan,' study suggests - Medical News Today

And I think Amethyst was talking about this thread from a while back...
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...lth-79704.html

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyline In general, I've reduced my carb intake across the board. Three easy changes that I think really made a difference for me: 1 - I used to eat a lot of rice, and I substitute it now with boiled barley. At first it was difficult, as barley has a very distinct flavor, but over time I grew to really like it, and now is almost a painless diet and nutrition improvement. For certain dishes, I miss white rice, but overall, I actually prefer the barley. Barley can take a while to prepare, so I make a big batch and freeze in individual portions. A couple minutes in the microwave and it's ready to go. 2 - I also used to eat lots of potatoes, and I substitute that with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not as GL friendly as barley is, but it is very GI friendly and much more nutritious. The only problem with sweet potatoes is that most people cook it way too long, basically converting the sweet potato into a candy bar (from a blood sugar perspective). I bake them no more than 35mins in the oven, and eat in place of regular potatoes. The more raw you can handle it, the better. 3 - The last major carb change was breakfast, which used to be almost always cereal (talk about a carb bomb). Now I have oatmeal most mornings - unsweetened, almost always with a piece of bacon or sausage. Don't go with the usual instant oatmeal (which has all kinds of added sugar and is too processed to have a good GI effect), go with steel cut or Coaches Oats which is similar but much easier to prepare. Alternatively, I sometimes have low-carb yogurt with a piece of fruit. Most yogurts are actually very high carb, but if you look around, you can find some very low carb (almost always NOT low fat) yogurts. Other than that, it's the usual stuff, less dessert, less bread, less pasta, more fruits/veg, eating more frequently, etc. Most of this has been more difficult than the barley/sweet potato/breakfast changes (esp. the less dessert part), but I've gotten into a routine that, at least for the time being, seems to be working without too much effort...

Thank you very much for sharing!! I have a couple of questions.

Do you eat the round kind of the flat kind of barley? I like the taste of barley (My family used to cook rice mixed in with rolled barley in rice back in the day.). I cooked the round kind a while back and it turned out so slimy on the outside that I couldn't get past it. How do you cook yours?

I eat yams once in a while. My DH bakes them and eats them along with his protein shakes in the morning. (BTW, *boiling* yams reduces the GL further, but they just don't taste as good...) Why did you settle on sweet potatoes over yams? I am asking only because sweet potatoes seem generally much sweeter to me.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 And I think Amethyst was talking about this thread from a while back... http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...lth-79704.html

Yeah. And we also discussed how many of those 120 years would be spent sitting on the toilet.

[skyline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Wouldn't this be considered a cure? I am serious. You cannot still be considered pre-diabetic if your sugar levels are normal, can you?

Well, you kinda have a good point, but I'm not sure I'd be able to maintain my current blood sugar levels if I went back to my old diet, so I wouldn't consider myself 'cured'.